Ordnance personnel have a need to test weapon and munition effectiveness against the latest improvements made in the armor of tanks and personnel carriers. They normally have to perform these tasks under conditions which simulate battlefield conditions. Under live fire conditions test personnel must be protected from physical injury. Teams of ordnance personnel frequently are required to travel to different testing sites to operate smoke producing equipment in order to provide a smoke screen for the testing of the military hardware. Where there is no danger to operating personnel the smoke generators are operated from an on-board control panel. They may also be initiated by remote operation by either the use of a hard wire control system or a radio remote system.
In the past a demolition firing device which generates an electrical impulse detonation signal at its output was used to detonate explosive smoke generators. Live fire testing precludes the use of on-board controls since ordnance operations are not allowed in the target area. When smoke generators are inside a target area ordnance operation are not able to use bard wired remote controls, thus dictating the use of a wireless system.